Faucet structure

ABSTRACT

A faucet structure includes a guide pipe main body and a pipe covering member. The guide pipe main body includes a seat body and a pair of guide pipes at two opposing sides of the seat body. Each guide pipe has a plurality of annular protruding ribs (or annular grooves) and at least one stop block (or one stop recess) on an outer wall thereof. Each guide pipe further has a positioning arcuate trough. The pipe covering member cooperates with positioning auxiliary poles and positioning auxiliary rods to cover the outer walls of the seat body and the guide pipes to form a covering pipe and positioning covering pipes. The pipe covering member further includes a pair of valve seats and a pair of inlet pipes at two sides thereof. The top and the bottom of the seat body are respectively connected with the positioning auxiliary poles, and the positioning arcuate troughs at the two outer ends of the guide pipes are connected with the positioning auxiliary rods to stable the positioning. After that, the plastic material is injected on the seat body, the guide pipes, and the positioning auxiliary rods to combine with the covering pipe, the positioning covering pipes, the valve seats and the inlet pipes of the pipe covering member. The inlet pipe has an outer threaded section or an annular groove section to connect with a threaded sleeve made of copper. Finally, the positioning auxiliary poles and the positioning auxiliary rods are detached from the guide pipe main body to complete the manufacture of the faucet. The present invention can be positioned easily, without the need of assembly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a faucet structure, and more particularly to a faucet structure which is one-piece without the need of assembly.

2. Description of the Prior Art

In general, a faucet is made of copper by casting. It is not easy to control the quality of the faucet because its inner water passages are winding. The process to manufacture the faucet is complicated, which causes a high cost. There may be a lot of defective products, and the copper faucet is heavy. Besides, the copper faucet has the environmental protection problem. Therefore, some producers produce the faucet main body and the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe separately. The faucet main body, the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe are assembled with copper bars by drilling and turning process. Though this faucet is not made by casting, it still needs the copper material which is expensive and not cost-effective. There are faucets made of plastic by injection on the market. A guide pipe is first made by injection, and then integrally formed with a seat body, a valve seat and an inlet pipe. However, the alignment of the mold cannot be controlled exactly, which lowers the production efficiency.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0096034 discloses an inner guide pipe. An inlet water pipe covering and an outlet water pipe covering are manufactured in one-piece. But, the demand for positioning the inner guide pipe is strict, which results a high failure rate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a faucet structure which can be positioned with ease without the need of assembly.

In order to achieve the aforesaid object, there is provided a faucet structure which comprises a guide pipe main body and a pipe covering member. The guide pipe main body is made of a plastic material by injection. The guide pipe main body includes a seat body and a pair of guide pipes at two opposing sides of the seat body. Each of the guide pipes has a positioning arcuate trough at an outer end thereof.

The pipe covering member is made of a plastic material by injection. The pipe covering member includes a covering pipe and a pair of positioning covering pipes corresponding to the seat body and the pair of guide pipes of the guide pipe main body. The pipe covering member further comprises a pair of valve seats and a pair of inlet pipes which cooperates with positioning auxiliary rods. Each of the inlet pipes has an outer threaded section thereon.

Thereby, the top and the bottom of the seat body are respectively connected with a positioning auxiliary pole, and the positioning arcuate troughs at two outer ends of the guide pipes are connected with the positioning auxiliary rods to stable the positioning. The plastic material is injected on the seat body, the guide pipe, and the positioning auxiliary rods to combine with the covering pipe, the positioning covering pipes, the valve seats and the inlet pipes of the pipe covering member. Finally, the positioning auxiliary poles and the positioning auxiliary rods are detached from the guide pipe main body to complete the manufacture of the faucet. The present invention can be positioned easily, without the need of assembly.

Preferably, each of the guide pipes has a plurality of annular protruding ribs or annular grooves on an outer wall thereof.

Preferably, each of the guide pipes has at least one stop block or stop recess on an outer wall thereof.

Preferably, each of the inlet pipes has an annular groove section thereon to engage with a threaded sleeve made of copper.

Preferably, the covering pipe, the valve seats and the inlet pipes of the pipe covering member are made by injecting the plastic material on the positioning auxiliary rods so that the valve seats and the inlet pipes are integrally formed.

Preferably, the positioning auxiliary rods are fitted on the top or bottom of the seat body or connected to the positioning arcuate troughs of the guide pipes.

The advantage of the present invention is that the guide pipe main body includes the seat body and the pair of guide pipes at two opposing sides of the seat body. Each of the guide pipes has the plurality of annular protruding ribs (or annular grooves) and the at least one stop block (or one stop recess) on the outer wall thereof. Each of the guide pipes further has the positioning arcuate trough. The pipe covering member cooperates with the positioning auxiliary poles and the positioning auxiliary rods to cover the outer walls of the seat body and the guide pipes to form the covering pipe and the positioning covering pipes. The pipe covering member further comprises a pair of valve seats and a pair of inlet pipes which are integrally formed with the pair of the positioning covering pipes. The guide pipe main body with the annular protruding ribs and the stop blocks disposed on the guide pipes is made of the plastic material by injection. The top and the bottom of the seat body are respectively connected with the positioning auxiliary poles, and the positioning arcuate troughs at the two outer ends of the guide pipes are connected with the positioning auxiliary rods to stable the positioning. After that, the plastic material is injected on the seat body, the guide pipes, and the positioning auxiliary rods to combine with the covering pipe, the positioning covering pipes, the valve seats and the inlet pipes of the pipe covering member. The inlet pipe has the outer threaded section. Finally, the positioning auxiliary poles and the positioning auxiliary rods are detached from the guide pipe main body to complete the manufacture of the faucet. The present invention can be positioned easily, without the need of assembly.

Alternatively, the top of the seat body is connected with the positioning auxiliary pole and the positioning arcuate troughs at the two outer ends of the guide pipes are connected with the positioning auxiliary rods. After that, the plastic material is injected on the seat body, the guide pipe, and the positioning auxiliary rods to combine with the covering pipe, the positioning covering pipes, the valve seats and the inlet pipes of the pipe covering member. The inlet pipe has the annular groove section thereon for engagement of the threaded sleeve to enhance its strength. Finally, the positioning auxiliary pole and the positioning auxiliary rods are detached from the guide pipe main body to complete the manufacture of the faucet, having the save effect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1-A is an assembled perspective view according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the guide pipe main body coupled with the positioning auxiliary poles and the positioning auxiliary rods according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view to form the pipe covering member according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing detachment of the positioning auxiliary poles and the positioning auxiliary rods according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing the guide pipes coupled with the threaded sleeves made of copper according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, FIG. 1-A, a faucet structure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a guide pipe main body 2 and a pipe covering member 3.

The guide pipe main body 2 is made of a plastic material by injection, and includes a seat body 21 and a pair of guide pipes 22 at two opposing sides of the seat body 21 for water to flow therethrough. Each of the guide pipes 22 has a plurality of annular protruding ribs 221 (or annular grooves) and at least one stop block 222 (or one stop recess) on an outer wall thereof to engage with an inner wall of a positioning covering pipe 32 of the pipe covering member 3. Each of the guide pipes 22 further has a positioning arcuate trough 223 at an outer end thereof for holding a positioning auxiliary pole A2.

The pipe covering member 3 is made of a plastic material by injection, and includes a covering pipe 31 and a pair of positioning covering pipes 32 corresponding to the seat body 21 and the pair of guide pipes 22 of the guide pipe main body 2, respectively. The pipe covering member 3 further comprises a pair of valve seats 33 and a pair of inlet pipes 34 at two sides thereof which are connected to the pair of the positioning covering pipes 32. The inlet pipe 34 has an outer threaded section 341 (or an annular groove section 342) to engage with a threaded sleeve 343 made of copper, as shown in FIG. 6, for supplying water. Accordingly, the present invention is one-piece without the necessary of assembly.

Referring to FIG. 2 to FIG. 5, the guide pipe main body 2 with the annular protruding ribs 221 and the stop blocks 222 disposed on the guide pipes 22 is made of a plastic material by injection. The top and the bottom of the seat body 21 are respectively connected with a positioning auxiliary pole A1, and the positioning arcuate throughs 223 at the two outer ends of the guide pipes 22 are connected with the positioning auxiliary rods A2 to stable the positioning, as shown in FIG. 3. After that, the plastic material is injected on the seat body 21, the guide pipes 22, and the positioning auxiliary rods A2 to combine with the covering pipe 31, the positioning covering pipes 32, the valve seats 33 and the inlet pipes 34 of the pipe covering member 3. The inlet pipe 34 has the outer threaded section 341 as shown in FIG. 4. Finally, the positioning auxiliary poles A1 and the positioning auxiliary rods A2 are detached from the guide pipe main body 2, as shown in FIG. 5, to complete the manufacture of the faucet. The present invention can be positioned easily, without the need of assembly.

Referring to FIG. 6, the top of the seat body 21 is connected with the positioning auxiliary pole A1 and the positioning arcuate troughs 223 at the two outer ends of the guide pipes 22 are connected with the positioning auxiliary rods A2. After that, the plastic material is injected on the seat body 21, the guide pipe 22, and the positioning auxiliary rods A2 to combine with the covering pipe 31, the positioning covering pipes 32, the valve seats 33 and the inlet pipes 34 of the pipe covering member 3. The inlet pipe 34 has the annular groove section 342 thereon for engagement of the threaded sleeve 343 to enhance its strength. Finally, the positioning auxiliary pole A1 and the positioning auxiliary rods A2 are detached from the guide pipe main body 2 to complete the manufacture of the faucet, having the save effect.

Accordingly, the present invention can be positioned easily, without the need of assembly.

Although particular embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the present invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims. 

1. A faucet structure, comprising: a guide pipe main body made of a plastic material by injection, the guide pipe main body including a seat body and a pair of guide pipes at two opposing sides of the seat body, each of the guide pipes having a positioning arcuate trough at an outer end thereof; and a pipe covering member made of a plastic material by injection, the pipe covering member including a covering pipe and a pair of positioning covering pipes corresponding to the seat body and the pair of guide pipes of the guide pipe main body, the pipe covering member further comprising a pair of valve seats and a pair of inlet pipes which cooperates with positioning auxiliary rods, each of the inlet pipes having an outer threaded section thereon.
 2. The faucet structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the guide pipes has a plurality of annular protruding ribs or annular grooves on an outer wall thereof.
 3. The faucet structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the guide pipes has at least one stop block or stop recess on an outer wall thereof.
 4. The faucet structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the inlet pipes has an annular groove section thereon to engage with a threaded sleeve made of copper.
 5. The faucet structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the covering pipe, the valve seats and the inlet pipes of the pipe covering member are made by injecting the plastic material on the positioning auxiliary rods so that the valve seats and the inlet pipes are integrally formed.
 6. The faucet structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the positioning auxiliary rods are fitted on the top or bottom of the seat body or connected to the positioning arcuate troughs of the guide pipes. 